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Marcus Chaplin
| Last = | Appearances = 13 }}Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) is Captain of the United States Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Colorado. Biography Season 1 Captain The USS Colorado is tasked with picking up a team of Navy SEALs who are fleeing pursuit after undertaking a secretive mission in Pakistan. Captain Chaplin is relaxed and confident in his crew and the pick-up goes smoothly, although the SEALs refuse to discuss their mission. XO Sam Kendal visits Chaplin's quarters and they discuss their family; Chaplin has a son serving in Afghanistan and Kendal has a wife back home Christine. Chaplin tells Kendal that he has recommended him for a desk job so he can be closer to his wife, thanking him for his loyalty but saying that he has done more than enough. They also discuss political unrest in Washington; four prominent military commanders have resigned over the President's behaviour, and he is facing an impeachment vote. Chaplin compares the President to Reagan in the Cold War and says that he needs to convince the world that he is just crazy enough to use nuclear weapons in order for the threat to be effective. The crew dance to "La Bamba" to celebrate crossing the equator but their revels are cut short by an incoming fire order. Chaplin authenticates the order but is dubious of it's origin; rather than coming from Washington it was sent via Antartica, a route that is only supposed to be used if Washington is compromised. As they prepare to fire, Kendal suggests that they check the situation and they are surprised to find American television broadcasting as normal. Chaplin radios Washington for confirmation of the order. Chief Joseph Prosser is quick to remind him that breaking radio silence is against protocol but Chaplin proceeds regardless. Chaplin gets a response from Deputy Secretary of Defense William Curry; he is relieved of his command and Kendal is told to proceed. When Kendal also asks for confirmation the SEALs storm the command room to try to force the crew to follow the order. Their action is cut short when the USS Illinois fires on the Colorado. The sub is able to dive before impact but still sustains damage and crashes onto the ocean floor. Kendal and the SEALs go to evacuate their wounded man (Harper) from sick bay. The SEAL team leader is killed by a rupturing bulkhead during the rescue effort. Kendal asks Chaplin for his help leading the crew but Chaplin is reluctant to resume his duties. Kendal returns to the control room and delivers a rousing speech to his crew urging them to do their jobs to ensure they survive and promising that he will face up to the consequences of his questioning the order later. The Colorado detects a nuclear strike against Pakistan. Chaplin resumes command of the boat over the protests of Chief Prosser. He directs them to land on an island with a NATO station. He has his crew secure the station under his command. Chaplin calls Admiral Shepard to tell him that the Colorado was attacked by friendlies but the call is cut short by Naval Military Police. Crewmen Stern and Lawrence engineer a blackout in the NATO station and contact naval command to report their action. Sam goes to investigate but is surprised by Stern. Lieutenant Grace Shepard shoots Stern, killing him before he can fire at Sam. They get the generator on-line in time to recognize a pair of bombers headed towards the island. Chaplin threatens to fire a nuclear warhead on the US if the bombers do not turn back. The bombers continue beyond the threshold he set and he follows through, firing the missile. The bombers turn back but Chaplin refuses to disarm the warhead. Sam is aghast until Chaplin reveals that he set the missile to detonate 200 miles east of Washington. Chaplin records a video message declaring the island his territory and threatening to attack anyone who violates a 200 mile perimeter around it. Sam tells him that he came across "just crazy enough." As Chaplin addresses the world Mayor Serrat kidnaps two of his crew; Seamen Pilar Cortez and Josh Brannan. Afterwards Chaplin muses on what happened to the America he grew up in and considers the possibility of starting afresh on the island. Blue on Blue The 200 mile perimeter Chaplin has set up around the island of Sainte Marina is being tested by the US Navy, who are sending the USS Illinois back and forth across the boundary. Chaplin responds by taking the USS Colorado to sea and testing the Perseus prototype. The device masks the submarine's magnetic signature, making it disappear from long range tracking. Executive Officer Sam Kendal argues that rather than taking aggressive action against their former comrades they should be negotiating. Chaplin says that they must show force before entering discussion. He uses the subterfuge to launch a disabled torpedo at the USS Illinois, proving his ability to destroy the vessel. The Illinois retreats back behind the perimeter. Chaplin returns to the NATO station on Sainte Marina and then visits Master Chief Joseph Prosser, who is still sewing discontent among the crew. A passenger aircraft breaches the perimeter and Chaplin threatens to shoot it down. Sophie Girard intervenes and radios the plan, successfully urging it to turn back. Sam deduces that the flight was dropping special forces troops intended to take over the Colorado. Sam heeds Chaplin's earlier strategy and plans to show force to the invaders, meeting them with an ambush. Chaplin approves of the plan and Grace Shepard volunteers to take part. Prosser uses his influence with the enlisted men to suggest that they shoot Grace in the back during the operation. Chaplin calls William Curry, newly promoted to Secretary of Defense, to ask him to remove the troops from the island but Curry denies having landed them. Sam opts to attempt negotiation with the special forces soldiers, not wanting to fight fellow Americans. As Sam is in the open Nigel deduces that the troops are Russian from their radio communication with a Ukrainian vessel at the perimeter. Sam is able to retreat to cover, using an improvised explosive device as a distraction. The firefight goes badly, with the inexperienced naval troops unable to contain the Speznatz soldiers. The action is saved by timely sniper fire from James King. The Colorado crew lose five people and Grace is wounded but they are able to capture two of the Russians. Chaplin contacts an old rival in the Russian navy named Victor and presses him to admit that it was a Russian operation. He has Curry listen in on the call to prove that the Russians are trying to seize the Colorado, creating friction among his enemies. Grace confronts Prosser about trying to have enlisted men kill her during the firefight. He responds by revealing that Chaplin's son Jeffrey was killed serving in Afghanistan a few weeks earlier, insinuating that Chaplin is acting out of a desire for revenge. Sam refuses to believe Prosser and later comforts a grieving Chaplin. Eight Bells Chaplin faces worsening discipline among the crew on Sainte Marina. Lieutenant Grace Shepard updates Captain Marcus Chaplin about their situation in the control room at the NATO monitoring station. They discuss the three missing crew members Josh Brannan, Michael Redman, and Pilar Cortez. Sam joins them and says that there is no way that Cortez is Absent Without Leave because she was on her third tour of duty. Chaplin gets a call from Amanda Straugh, a negotiator for the US government. She warns him that the blockade is about to close in and asks him to resolve the situation. She tells him that the government will not authorize burial of his son Jeffrey Chaplin until he surrenders the USS Colorado. Sam Kendal tells Chaplin that Joseph Prosser is a figurehead for the crew's dissatisfaction. Chaplin visits Prosser at the jail. He offers to release him if he can put their differences aside to help find the missing crew members. Prosser sees that Chaplin is trying to cut off the head of the dissent but accepts for the good of his fellow sailors. SEAL James King wins a naval watch in a poker game with one of Julian Seratt's men. Sam arranges for Sophie Girard to introduce Chaplin to Serrat. The Mayor is angry that the Captain disrespected him by waiting so long to meet him. He shows Chaplin the mourning relatives of a boy killed in the firefight with the Russian force. He blames Chaplin for the blockade around island and offers a deal - if Chaplin picks up a shipment of contraband from outside the blockade, he will return his people alive. He gives Chaplin until dawn to deliver the goods. The Colorado sets sail and Sam orders the Perseus system readied to allow the sub to slip past the blockade undetected. The system malfunctions as the Colorado is passing between two destroyers. Grace picks up the ship from the monitoring station but the Destroyers seem to have missed it. The Colorado makes the rendezvous with Seratt's boat in good time and the caro is taken aboard. During the dinner with her family Tani is upset to learn that her younger brother Aitu is no longer planning to leave the island. She storms off. King apologizes to her father, who says that it is routine behavior. King follows Kylie and she shows him her mother's grave, confiding that she blames her father for her mother's death. She explains that he convinced her mother to stay on the island and try traditional medicine instead of returning to Australia for modern care. They hike back to their boat and Tani takes King to a waterfool and natural pool where they swim together. She tells him that it is supposed to be for men only but that her mother showed it to her. As the Colorado heads back to the island the prolonged use of the Perseus system begins to interfere with the boat's electrical systems. Chaplin orders it switched off, risking exposure to protect essential systems. Prosser offers to check on engineering but Sam objects, fearing that he will sabotage the boat. They square off and Chaplin orders them both to stand down and concentrate on the situation at hand. Chaplin takes the sub deep under the surface and orders silent running to try to preserve stealth. The hull strains under the intense pressure of the depth but holds. The effort is wasted when Crewman Duke drops a torch while descending a ladder, causing a loud bang. The Colorado is detected by ships on the blockade and they launch depth charges in an attempt to disable her. Chaplin takes the Colorado into a trench on the ocean floor to avoid pursuit. Chaplin takes stock of the damage to the Colorado and decides to use the trench to return to the island, despite being unable to use sonar for fear of giving away his position. He uses contact with the NATO station for guidance. Sophie talks Sam through navigating the trench step by step to safety. The delays in the return journey nevertheless cause the sub to miss Seratt's deadline. He again threatens to kill one of the prisoners and Brannan is forced to choose who. He opts for Redman and Serrat has his people take him outside and shoot him. Chaplin delivers the illicit cargo to Seratt and is devastated to only receive two crew members in response. Seratt is unrepentant, blaming Chaplin's lateness. At the town square Sam thanks Sophie for her assistance. Chaplin arrives with Cortez and Brannan. Sam is incensed that Seratt killed Redman and plans retaliation. Chaplin refuses, saying that they cannot fight an insurgency on the island and effectively protect their perimeter. Chaplin drinks with Cortez in Tani's bar and tries to console her. She lies about Redman's death, saying that Seratt selected him for mouthing off. The natives' funeral procession for the dead boy arrives in town. Sam offers Chaplin sympathy on the death, and delayed burial, of Jeffrey. Relationships Family * Jeffrey Chaplin - son (deceased) Crew * Lieutenant Commander Sam Kendal - executive officer * Lieutenant Grace Shepard - second officer * Lieutenant Chris Cahill - communications officer * Cameron Pitts - sonar operator * Weapons Officer * Master Chief Joseph Prosser - Chief of the Boat, mutineer * Petty Officer Josh Brannan - missing crew member * Petty Officer Michael Redman - missing crew member (deceased) * Seaman Pilar Cortez - missing crew member * Seaman Stern - mutineer (deceased) * Seaman Lawrence - mutineer * Seaman Jones - crew member * Seaman Henry - crew member * Seaman Reynolds - crew member * Marine Unger - crew member Sainte Marina * SEAL Gil Langston - associate (deceased) * SEAL James King - associate * SEAL Fisher - associate * SEAL Hopper - associate * Sophie Girard - NATO station manager * Nigel - NATO station technician Quotes "You knew this wouldn't just be bullets. They'll come at you where it hurts the most." "Sometimes the enemy is just the man keeping you from getting home." "People, we are now the popular girl at the dance." "Test us and we will all burn together. You've been warned." "I'll sink the ship, victor. Then I'll target the Sevestopol station where your two sons are stationed, and I'll turn it to glass." Gallery Behind the scenes Marcus Chaplin is a major character in the first season. He is played by starring cast member Andre Braugher and debuts in . Appearances References Category:Major characters Category:Season 1 characters Category:Military personnel Category:USS Colorado crew Category:Status:Deceased